R.I.P. Lou Reed

Well said Hodu.

I appreciated his empathy for the underbelly of society, for the freaks, the losers, the junkies. In the day and to this day my favorite cut is 'Heroin' off their debut LP. Lou really captured the gut and soul of smack use like no one else.

I have always had a soft spot for Lou, and not sure why, in that I really do not know that much about him or his music, beyond the obvious. Maybe for the reason related by Airegin. Definitely a guy who influenced many and that retained a special place in their hearts and minds accordingly. That says a lot.

He was, for better and worse, an amazingly influential artist.

He definitely inspired a lot of the 70s artists who wanted to play with the idea that momentum was the key to r'n'r rhythm. Reed abstracted that into a laconic simmer that resonated with everyone from Brian Eno/Roxy and the prog guys that followed them to David Byrne and many, many more.

As Hodu noted, his catalog included a lot of questionable choices but also a lot of fantastic music. His first solo record remains a personal favorite. As Airegin noted, he consumed a lot of heroin over the years and that had to take a toll. I can't say that his stuff has been in regular rotation at my home recently, but I still hear echoes of his work in so much of the music that I do enjoy these days.

Marty

brian eno famously said that the velvet underground only sold 30,000 of their first record, but everyone who bought one started a band. works well as a eulogy. as noted above, his solo work is uneven--he made too many records--but still full of classics. perfect day, legendary hearts, kill your sons et. al. are as among the best songs ever written.